The role of cultural safety and ethical space within postcolonial healthcare for Maasai in Tanzania

Abstract

The history of the Maasai tribe in northern Tanzania is characterised by marginalisation, discrimination and political subjugation. Inequities, enacted through power relations, influence healthcare access, practices and outcomes among the Maasai. Cultural safety and ethical space provide lenses into social, political and historical influences on access to care, helping to understand the realities of historically marginalised populations such as the Maasai, and responses to health services. This study aims to examine Maasai experiences of accessing and uptake of health services within a postcolonial discourse in Tanzania. In an ethnographic study examining access and perceptions of healthcare services in Maasai communities, lead authors conducted participant observations and at health facilities to document experiences. Household interviews, a group oral history and interviews with NGOs working with Maasai communities, contributed to the data analysed. Inductive thematic analysis was used to understand healthcare experiences within a framework of cultural safety and ethical space. Despite trust in biomedicine, Maasai people have a strong desire for health services with particular characteristics. Quality of care, including facilities and diagnostics available and used, was important. A sense of fairness was a determinant in respecting services including ‘first come first serve’ system and transparency when unable to treat a condition. Trust in health services was also influenced by personal interactions with health workers, including provision of health information provided to patients and instances of being mistreated. These findings offer an understanding of ways in which spaces of healthcare can be more approachable and trusted by Maasai. Incorporating cultural safety and ethical spaces to understand healthcare access can help to reduce the power imbalance possibly resulting from a history of marginalisation. This can inform development of culturally appropriate programmes, used to educate healthcare professionals and advocate for improved healthcare services for marginalised groups.